Bendigo Sheep and Wool Show forges ahead, 2000 sheep expected
Border closures aren’t expected to dent sheep numbers at Bendigo, as breeders across Victoria prepare to flock to the leading industry event on July 16-18.
After months of uncertainty the Australian Sheep and Wool Show is set to go ahead on July 16-18 in Bendigo.
Australian Sheep Breeders’ Association chief executive Margot Falconer said some interstate exhibitors would not be able to make it due to concerns about border closures or Covid-19 restrictions, but that was not expected to significantly reduce the numbers of sheep on show.
The show did not go ahead last year due to the pandemic, so the sheep industry was pumped to have an event to be able to gather for, she said.
“We expect to have 2000 sheep coming for the show and a huge number of trade sites, which is just brilliant,” Ms Falconer said.
“Everyone will need to register using QR codes and follow Covid restrictions that are in place at the time.
“People are just so looking forward to being able to attend an ag event, Bendigo is such an important event in the calendar for so many people.”
This year’s feature breed is the Border Leicester, and another breed, less familiar to many sheep producers, the French Charollais, will be making its debut in the show ring.
Ms Falconer said the wool craft side of the show continued to be popular, with 300 entries providing an important creative outlet and showcase for the attributes of the fibre.
There was also a focus on agricultural careers in the careers and technology marquee.
The Australian Fleece Competition will celebrate its 20th year and one of the organisers, Candice Cordy, Nutrien Ag Solutions Bendigo wool account manager, said about 400 fleeces were entered.
The Merino ram sale would also feature 92 rams, fewer than previous years. The Dorper ram sale is also expected to attract interest, with some interstate rams unable to be transported to the sale to be offered via an online platform during the physical selling.
RAM SALE
Despite confirmation the Australian Sheep and Wool Show Merino ram sale will go ahead in person this year, Covid-19 is still weighing heavily on the feature sale.
After the annual sale was moved online last year following the first wave of the coronavirus lockdown restrictions, organisers were pleased this year’s multi-vendor ram sale could be held once again at the Bendigo Exhibition Centre as part of the Sheep and Wool Show on Sunday, July 18.
There are 92 Merino rams from four states catalogued for the annual sale, but that is subject to Covid-19 restrictions, primarily in NSW, limiting interstate breeders from attending.
Elders agent Ross Milne said there was still “uncertainty” surrounding the sale, but market expectations for it were still “very positive”.
“We’ve seen increased demand for wool and prices have remained positive and increased over the last couple of months so that will hopefully add up to a successful selling season starting at Bendigo,” Mr Milne said.
The AuctionsPlus version of the sale last year resulted in 34 of 44 rams on offer selling to a top of $10,750 and average of $4689.
The 2019 sale resulted in 101 of 125 Merino rams offered sell to a top of $26,000, three times, and for an average of $5099. While last year’s online sale did not achieve those highs, vendors were pleased it could go ahead.
A long-time vendor of the sale, vice-president of the Victorian Stud Merino Sheep Breeders Association Alan Harris, offered three Merino rams online last year. They topped at $2700 for a polled ram and averaged about $2000. With the wool market looking up and a good season under way, Mr Harris said he was feeling positive about the four Merino rams he was putting forward this year from his Koole Vale Merino stud.
“You don’t get any more people go past your sheep than at Bendigo. It’s the first sale of the season and foremost a showcase, and if we sell some along the way that’s great,” he said.
Mr Harris said the versatility of the Koole Vale rams was “a key selling point” allowing them to cater to clients in the southern and northern regions of Victoria with most repeat buyers in a 100km radius of the stud, which was at Costerfield, an hour east of Bendigo.
“We like to have a good, medium to large-framed sheep so they’re versatile; you can join them to a terminal sire or sell your wether lambs,” he said. “They’re heavier (wool) cutting sheep too, around 7kg, which keeps the dust out in the summer and the rain out in the winter.”
Koole Vale’s annual on-property sale is in October where they sell about 50 rams every year. Last year the sale topped at $7000 and averaged $2200.
FEATURE BREED: BORDER LEICESTER
Border Leicester breeders will finally get the chance to showcase their sheep as the feature breed at Bendigo this year.
Border Leicesters were supposed to be the headline act of last year’s show which was cancelled because of Covid-19 restrictions.
Gippsland breeder Ian Baker of Geraldine Border Leicester stud is particularly excited for the breed’s long-awaited highlight as feature breed, particularly following the great success of his recent ewe flock dispersal.
The dispersal sale smashed the previous Australian record for Border Leicester stud ewes up to 12 times, according to some onlookers.
In total, at that sale 97 ewes sold to full clearance for an average of $2251 with a top price of $4600 achieved for a six-year-old ewe with twin rams that are entered into the upcoming show.
Mr Baker will showcase eight one- and two-year-old rams at Bendigo this month in his last presentation of stud rams ahead of the sale of his last Border Leicester rams at the Horsham Border Leicester show and sale in October.
“I started the Border Leicester stud in 1967 when I was 16 and we’ve had it ever since until we dispersed just recently. We’re ready to move on,” Mr Baker said.
“I’ve also been pretty heavily involved with the industry and the Border Leicester society since the 1980s and ’90s.”
NSW Border Leicester breeder and president of the Australian Border Leicester Association Jeff Sutton has unfortunately had to withdraw his entry of Border Leicester sheep this year due to the rapidly advancing Covid-19 restrictions across NSW and Sydney.
“I can’t bring any sheep down because I’ve got a business in Sydney and I’m locked down here at the moment,” Mr Sutton said.
“I’m sure the Border Leicester breeders will put on a fantastic feature breed line-up there, but there are a few of us who just won’t be able to get there this year.”
Mr Sutton has been breeding Border Leicester sheep at his Wattle Farm stud since 2005 when he first “got hooked” on the breed and decided to pursue a stud business.
“They’re very intelligent sheep and there’s always a good market for them,” he said. “When the Australian flock increases in size again there will be a great demand for Border Leicesters as the preference for first-cross ewes.”
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